recherché
by mynameisvaleria
Summary: Sometimes, Romana wonders whether a future like this is a future at all. At times, he makes her feel better, but she knows that this will all fade away slowly until she was nothing at all. The only girl in the maze contemplates a lot, and she's right to, because in a world like this, there isn't really anyone you could trust at all. (Minho/OC)
1. 1

**1.**

_(180 days ago)_

She knew there was something wrong when she felt the ground rushing up beside her. For a moment, she had panicked and nearly jumped, only to realise that she was in fact limited in space and capability. Feeling like she was about to drown, she tried to utter a few requests for help, which only died in her throat like a bubble before she could get them out. She slammed her fists on the side of the metal cage in desperation, hoping that she was not lonely in the universe, and that there were people out there waiting to save her.

'This is the most exciting part of being in the Glade- waiting to see what shank they send us every once a month,' a voice stated before breaking into an amused chuckle.

Before she could apprehend anything, the light was blinding her, and she immediately brought her hand up to shield her eyes.

There was only a stunned silence around her when she slowly let her arms fall back beside her. 'Oh shuck, that was not what I expected,' that same voice exclaimed passionately. She wondered briefly in her mind what in heaven's name 'shuck' and 'shank' was, because they certainly were not very intimidating swearwords. And before she could fully comprehend her thought-train, she had suddenly felt a headache grab hold of her and then she was falling back into the black hole. Down and down and down and down….

…and then she sat up, gasping loudly.

'Oh well, she's awake.'

Before she could control her lips, the words, 'We really needed your exceptional observation skills,' had slipped out of her lips carelessly, and she cursed herself for her apparent stupidity.

The boy who had made the obvious statement merely raised his eyebrows. 'Well, this one doesn't like to keep her tongue to herself,' he commented.

'I'm sorry,' she immediately backtracked, shamefaced. 'I was just caught surprised.'

His eyebrows went higher up his forehead. 'You're a girl.'

Annoyance filled up to her chest, and pushed the words that she had been meaning to swallow. 'Oh, are we playing that game again? Please, tell me something I don't already know.'

_Damn, _she mentally berated herself again, _I need to learn how to shut up._

'Your tongue is sharp. We may have to cut it out,' he gave her a sharp glare. Her eyes widened, but then she composed herself again, simply pressing her lips together in hope that she did not start blurting out offenses again. 'Now that we're not being smart shanks, let's talk. My name is Alby. Who are you?'

'I don't know.'

He grinned. 'Well, it'll come back to you sooner or later,' he answered, 'Now let's get to the basics. What are you doing here? Because we sure as hell never had any girls before.'

Her dark eyebrows pulled together. 'What? What do you- you mean there are only boys in this place? Then does that mean I'm the only girl? But that-'

Alby gave her a dark glare again, and that shut her up very efficiently. 'Listen, here. You obviously know more than you let on. You're a _girl. _They never send girls. Why would you come- in the middle of nowhere?'

She wondered how to answer him when she didn't even understand how she got here in the first place. It wasn't as if she wanted to be stuck in the middle of a testosterone filled environment- she wasn't pleased with her own situation either. And then suddenly, Alby seemed to deflate a little. He sighed. 'Fine. Newt will show you around. But I'll be watching you. You'd better watch out. We don't play nice with traitors.'

The girl just frowned. _Just my luck to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of sexist pigs. _

The door opened behind them, and she turned to see a brown haired boy walk towards them. 'Hey Alby, you called?'

'Yeah, show the greenie around.'

She didn't even bother to ask what in heaven's name 'greenie' meant. Following the shorter boy, she got a feeling that he was much chattier than his friend. When she was quite sure he wouldn't lash out at her for talking to him, she opened her mouth. 'Hello.'

He smiled. 'Hello. So, welcome to the Glade. I would say you'd fit right in, but I really doubt it, honestly. What's your name?''

Without thinking, the words slipped out of her lips. 'Romana,' she blurted out, and then surprised, she added, 'I think.'

They continued to walk for a few minutes in silence. She marvelled at the green grass beneath her feet.

In a split moment, she made the decision to take off her shoes. Newt did not comment, but only raised his eyebrows slightly in enquiry. She did not answer either, but simply smiled back at him, hoping the smile was a genuine one. The grass was prickly and not soft nor comfortable under her bare feet, but for some reason, it felt stimulating. For once, she felt like she was not dreaming- that she was real, after all.

'We only have three rules here, Romana, and they expect us to keep them. Number one, everyone does their part. Number two, never hurt another Glader. Number three, Never go outside the Glade,' he stated seriously, and she nodded seriously. And then suddenly he grinned amusedly. 'Why are you in a dress?'

She looked down at herself and shrugged. She was in a little white lace dress that was stained in some places. 'That is not the most appropriate attire for a place like this,' she commented, raising her eyebrows at her own wardrobe. He laughed, and after some hesitation, she joined in his laughter.

After that, they seemed to be much more comfortable with each other. He continued to show her around the Glade, until he excused himself to the washroom. She hung around awkwardly, now knowing whether she should sit or just stand around.

After a few moments, she felt an arm around her waist. 'Hey, girly.'

She turned around, alarmed, raising her arm to defend herself. Before she could, he had gripped her wrists and yanked them behind her. 'Getting feisty, aren't you?' he breathed in her ear. Tears sprung forth in her eyes, but she would not let them fall. They were not tears of desperation, but tears of frustration and anger. 'Why don't you stay still like all girls should, and do what you do best, hmm? I called dibs on you, so just stop struggling and it will be way easier us all.'

'You bastard, get the fuck off me!' she shouted, before he could slam his palm over her lips. She tried to struggle to get him off her, but he was too strong. He did not take well to her outburst. Giving a growl, he slammed her to the side of the wall, and she heard a loud crack. And then, just as the lights started to go out, she wondered if that was the sound of her skull caving in, or if it was merely her nose crunching.

There was a loud ringing in her ears, and she could only make out distant voices calling out.

'What the shuck is this?'

'Get your hands off her!' Newt's voice demanded.

'Is that a shucking girl?' a new voice chuckled, 'Well, I wouldn't blame Johnny boy for trying one on her either.'

And then, the lights between the dark spots began to fade too. She could only catch a glimpse of black hair and dark brown eyes- with the same complexion as her, before she finally succumbed to the darkness once again. She let her last thoughts run through her mind as she did. _Damn. I'm not giving the sexist pigs a good impression either. I've fainted twice in a day. Talk about damsels in distress. _


	2. 2

_*Wow, so I never thought so many were going to read this and oh my gosh, it was a freaking pleasant surprise so here is an early update for all of you who requested and favourited and followed:) I really hope you like how it turns out and I hope I don't disappoint!_

* * *

**2.**

_(179 days ago)_

The girl with the dark ginger hair and Asian features had been out for the whole night.

Minho wondered whether she was going to wake. He had not been supportive of John for attempting to force himself on the girl, but he did not exactly blame him either. After all, they hadn't seen a girl for nearly 3 years, and there was just so much self-control they could exert before giving in.

He wondered, with the perfect environment and opportunity, if he would do the same.

He shook that thought out of his mind. Poisonous thoughts would not do him any good right now. As much as he craved running (because it meant he was escaping the reality for one moment), he was glad today was not his turn. Things had happened so suddenly in the Glade, and he was so curious to see what the presence of a girl would do to the perfectly designed system in the Glade.

It was in the middle of the day, and she was given the task of a Slopper ('perfect job for a girl')- which she had realised to mean doing all the dirty chores that the other Gladers did not want to do. Clearing up after the Gladers (all boys, especially), Romana realised, was not easy. They rarely gave a thought to the Sloppers' feelings, carelessly discarding all their unwanted trash around. However, being grateful that she was not to be used like a whore, she took a deep breath and sucked it up.

As she was cleaning up the beds, she noticed a figure watching her from afar. She decided to ignore it.

It wasn't until lunch break that she had approached him.

'You've been watching me,' she announced, a corner of her lip turning down. He tilted his head to the side a little, as if he was evading her question. Her eyebrows pushed together, obviously frustrated by his lack of response. 'Why were you watching me?'

He chuckled. She was definitely not expecting that reaction. 'Is there a reason not to? You're the only girl in the Glade. We haven't seen a girl in 3 years.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Is that the only reason I'm still alive?'

He raised an eyebrow. 'I'm Minho. What's your name?'

Just like he didn't answer her, she ignored his question. 'Did I see you just before I passed out yesterday?' she asked again.

'Now is time for you to say, hi, my name's whatever.'

'Hi, my name's Romana. Were you there?'

He mock sighed. 'Yes, Romana, I was there. I pulled him away from you. Is there a reason you're asking?'

There was a moment of silence. Romana supposed that she must not have been a pleasant person, because those two words were so difficult to force out. 'I…thank you,' she finally managed to utter, a flush forming over her cheeks. 'I don't… I normally don't faint. It's just that…'

'He was trying to have sex with you so he knocked you out,' he finished. 'Yes, I understand.'

She swallowed. She had never thought of it like that. 'I don't… that didn't run thtrough my mind.'

He raised his eyebrow. 'Are you telling me that the whole time he was trying to grope you, you didn't for once, think that he was trying to knock you out so he could-'

'No. I don't want to think about it, and I don't want to talk about it. Thank you very much' she tried saying it as politely as she could, but couldn't keep the venom from seeping out from her words. _I must have been such a fucking bitch. _

It seemed like Minho didn't really take offense, because he only laughed. 'Girls.'

'Must all of you be such sexist pugs?' she muttered, standing up and taking her lunch elsewhere, until he grabbed her arm. She stared back at him pointedly, but he only nodded toward the seat next to him again. Sighing, Romana sat back down. 'Can I assume what you have to say is extremely important, and cannot wait until never?'

He shrugged, and then sighed, exasperated. 'You know, to some extent, I understand how it feels,' he paused, studying her reaction. When there was none, he continued. 'For a long time, I was the only Asian kid in the Glade. They used to give me klunk for it, until I became a runner. '

She glanced at him. 'Yes, but I'm both.'

Minho laughed. For a moment, Romana understood he was too, just a scared little boy who was trapped in the middle of nowhere. She understood that at that moment, he was just at the wrong place, at the wrong time. He did not answer, just gestured towards her soiled clothes. 'You should change out of that. It's proving to be quite the distraction for all of us.'

'I don't actually have clothes, unless you haven't noticed, I'm the only girl in a boy's camp.'

He smiled. 'I can always count on you to be so charming,' he teased.

For the first time since she had arrived, her laugh was genuine. Slowly, as their laughter died away, she put down her lunchbox and stood up. 'Well, I guess I should go. You boys chuck your bloody trash everywhere. It's almost impossible to clean up after you guys.'

Before she could say another word, he had followed her advice and dumped his box on the floor, walking off. She scowled after him, and he turned back to send her a wink. A twitch pulled at the corner of her lips, and she tried hard to resist it.

**XXXXX**

'Hey, greenie!'

She turned around abruptly, attentive all at once. A figure had collapsed onto the floor. Captiously, she walked towards it, until she was directly above him. Her expectations were met when she arrived to find Minho lying there, soaked in sweat.

She approached with little steps. 'Are you all right?'

'Get me some water,' he said gruffly.

She would have resisted, but Minho seemed to be extremely in need of the water, despite his lack of fundamental politeness. Turning, she went to grab a bottle of water and made her way to him again. As she approached him, he pulled on her wrist and let her lose her balance.

Unable to reaffirm her stance, she completely fell onto him, unreserved. He smirked, catching the bottle of water as it fell. She only managed to reach out her arms in front of her before she crushed him (not that she thought she could anyway), but she still did land on top of him. Romana wondered how inappropriate this position seemed to be, especially to onlookers. Minho screwed off the lid, and poured half of the liquid down his throat before dumping the rest over his head. And then, he turned back to smirk at her.

They were now in an extremely compromising situation. He had thrown the bottle onto the floor and pushed her closer to him with his hand on the small of her back. Minho realised suddenly, how small her waistline was. She was pushing against the floor, trying to keep herself off the floor. Her forearms trembled with the effort, and he had noticed. He stared at her, loving how her eyes were so dark, appreciating how her body felt against hers. Unconsciously, he gripped at the back of her dress, as if to keep her close to him.

However, he only managed to grip too tightly, ripping the fabric of her already fragile lace dress. At that moment, he realised how strong he was, and how small she was.

At the sound of her fabric ripping, she scrambled to get up immediately, accidentally kneeing Minho in the process.

He groaned in pain, rolling on the floor holding his crotch. 'Shuck!' he exclaimed.

Immediately, people were running towards them, and she was pulled back hands held behind her back. Minho tried to speak, but was unable to for a second. When he regained his speech, he held up a hand to stop them, an expression of pain still on his face. 'No, don't hurt her.'

'She just kicked you in the-'

He flushed. 'It isn't as if she's done it on purpose,' he muttered, scratching the back of his neck.

Alby raised his eyebrows. 'Then why's she-'

'She was trying to get up- she tripped.'

Romana's eyes widened. 'What? You pulled me-'

'Like I said, she tripped,' he repeated, a hint of a smile in his eyes. They released her, and she nearly stumbled to the ground in an effort to regain her balance. She glared at Minho, who simply shot her a smile in response. 'All a misunderstanding. It's not as if she'd be able to hurt me, anyway.'

She rolled her eyes and brushed her hair back as if to challenge him. He grinned.

'Stop flirting,' a distant voice called, annoyed.

'What, you angry you aren't getting any?' Minho called back, obviously amused.

Romana sighed. She didn't want to stand around here listening to boys argue like they were 12 years old. 'Are you done? Because since Minho damaged my dress, I would appreciate a change of clothes- unless of course, you don't mind me running around half-naked in the Glade.'

There were a series of murmurs. 'What were you doing in the first place?'

Minho's smirk became wider, and Romana turned to leave this embarrassment behind.

'Hey. Hey!' Minho called as she started to walk away.

She turned around and waited for him to speak up. You should really get changed now,' he said with a smirk. 'The back of your dress is completely ripped. Since it's my fault, anyway, I can lend you my clothes. But you're going to have to give them back.'

She stopped to contemplate whether it was a good idea to get attached to someone so early on at her time in the Glade. 'All right,' she finally managed to make up her mind. 'Even though it's highly improbably that I'll actually fit into the clothes, anyway.'

He shrugged, gesturing her to follow him. He did, and he rummaged through his belongings before pulling out a shirt and a pair of short pants. 'These are the only ones that don't fit me, so there's a chance that they may fit you. Try your luck,' he said.

She stared at him. 'Aren't you going to leave?'

He sighed. 'Regrettably. But next time you want us to treat you like one of us, I won't be holding back.'

And then he turned to leave the cabin.

Minho made her feel so conflicted. On one hand, he was such a rude little prick, but he was also the one who (how much she hated saying this, but) got her out of so many situations that she could not have managed to on her own. She pulled off her little dress. As she did, she discovered a little tattoo just below her right breast, but ignored it the best she could. Swallowing, she shrugged on the oversized t-shirt and pants. She had to pull really tightly on the strings of the waistband to make sure it wouldn't fall off.

Romana pulled the door open, and realised that Minho had already left. It was during times like this that she truly wondered how she felt around Minho. He was always so frustrating.

That night, they were sitting around the campfire.

'Cheers to greenie!' someone called, and they clinked their wine glasses together. 'So you wanna tell is who you are?'

'I know my name's Romana,'' she started, and she shrugged, adding, 'And that I'm a girl. Other than that…'

There was a little bit of laughter.

'And that you're wearing Minho's clothes,' another voice added, then the boy shrugged as the silence grew louder. 'What, did you think no one would notice?'

Romana's face reddened, and Minho simply looked triumphant.

'I tore up her dress.'

She couldn't understand how she could possibly be more embarrassed than she already was, but there it went. 'He doesn't- Minho, why would you say that? It's not real-'

'What do you mean it's not real? I did tear up that pretty little lace thing.'

Her jaw fell open. Wide. 'No!' she shrieked. 'He doesn't mean it like that! He just-'

'I think we've heard enough of you two's sexual escapades,' Alby said dryly, and decidedly unamusedly.

Quite briefly, she wondered if this was going to actually help her out. In fact, this could stop the other boys from coming after her. She had had a reasonable deduction that many boys in the Glade were actually wary (if not a little bit terrified) of Minho.

'Well, you definitely look good in them,' Minho replied, completely ignoring Alby's comment.

'Are you done taking out your sexual frustrations on me?' Romana asked in a matter-of-fact tone, 'because it seems as though it is all this gathering is for. And I don't really for any of that shit. So if you're not done, then I might as well go ahead and take the night off.'

There was a short silence, and Gally laughed, breaking the serenity. 'Well said, Romana,' he grinned triumphantly at the newbie, clapping at her effort to embarrass Minho. It seemed that he wasn't only impressed with her bravery, but also to whom her restlessness was aimed towards. She had noticed Gally's overall distaste towards Minho.

Minho rolled his eyes, but otherwise made no response.

'On a side note, I like her accent,' Gally smirked.

She raised her eyebrows. 'Got to admit, it is a pretty cool accent,' she grinned at Gally, who gave her a wink in return. Very quickly, Minho's expression completely changed. His expression darkened so much that Romana wasn't sure if she could recognise his previous face. She supposed she was too busy staring at Minho that she didn't notice Gally had picked up a bottle and went over to sit next to her.

'Here, have some of this.'

She took the bottle from him and as if initiating a challenge, raised an eyebrow and downed half of it.

He merely smiled, thumping on her back in approval.


	3. 2 5

_*Thank you for all the great reviews! This chapter is such a freaking filler I don't really like it so... but yeah. Hope you enjoy it anyway._

* * *

**2.5**

_(175 days before)_

'Hey greenie! You've got clothes!'

Romana had perhaps never been so excited all her life (but then, a large part of her life was still missing) for such a little thing. After wearing Minho's clothes for about 3 days, she was more than glad to change into something that would fit better on her.

The Creators were obviously very well off, because what she received was not a bag of clothes, but almost a box full of clothes. It seemed that this week's resources were tailored for her, because there were feminine products and even a box of hair dye that matched her current hair colour.

As soon as her clothes had arrived, she had raced into the cabin to get changed. She pulled out a pair of shorts and a slightly oversized shirt that she tied at her waist. Then, she put on some comfortable socks and a pair of dark brown combat boots to keep her feet comfortable. Her previous pair were a pair of flats, which was mostly comfortable, except for the fact that they pinched her toes a little bit.

Sighing in relief, she stepped out of the cabin and started her work. It was so repetitive, always cleaning, cleaning and cleaning. Romana wished she could somehow have a say over her job, but unfortunately, she was a girl. And they seemed to hold no power over anyone- any_thing _in the Glade.

Minho was running, so fortunately, she didn't need to deal with him just yet.

'Hey greenie.'

She sighed, and turned back. 'Hello Gally. What's going on? Do you somehow need my assistance, which I highly doubt?

Gally smirked. 'Yes, actually. I want you to have lunch with me today,' he answered. 'And I'm not taking a "no" for answer.'

A smile pulled at her lips. Despite her previous impression she had of Gally, he was evidently not the same obnoxious person she thought he was.

**XXXXX**

'Can you help me with something?'

It was out of the blue. She didn't even sleep on the thought- it had appeared in her mind one day and she went along with it before she could change her mind. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask her to fire away.

(It seemed as if she had learned what it meant behind his every eyebrow movement.)

'I don't want to be a Slopper.'

He could understand, because she had never had training with any of the keepers, and the default had simply been Slopper because they enjoyed being sexist 'shanks'. At his brief silence, she tried to take back her statement, thinking that she had obviously crossed the line. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned-'

He exhaled the breath that he had been holding. 'I'll bring it up during the next Keeper meeting,' he replied, stopping not only her statement, but also the subject once and for all. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed her rushed and sincere gratitude.

It was worth it, he decided, when she appeared much more upbeat and less exhausted after cleaning up after the boys for a week.

Come night, he went to visit her at her hammock (which Alby had grudgingly placed next to the younger boys after much convincing), and told her of the good news. 'They're trying you out tomorrow. You're with the med-jacks tomorrow. Clint warned you to be on time. He, apparently, won't take any klunk from anyone, not even a girl.'

Romana smiled. 'Good.'

Gally settled down on the floor next to her. 'Do you ever wonder why they'd send you here?'

She smiled again. 'Yeah, of course. Only girl in the Glade- I must have done something really wrong in the past. So they put me in here to punish me,' she replied, then turned to look at him purposefully. 'But it backfired on them, didn't it? I have you now.'

It took him by surprise, but the surprise must have been pleasant, because after his moment of shock, a wide smile spread across his face. 'You're definitely something else,' he commented, shaking his head.

'Course. I'm the only girl here. I'm bound to be a little different.'

There was a silence again, but it wasn't awkward- like all their silence, it was comfortable.

(She figured out that she was one of those collected people who didn't show much emotion, no matter the intensity.)

'Well,' he stood up, 'I better go and let you sleep. You have a long day ahead of you.'

'Wait-' she called out, 'I just... can you... Can you stay? One more night? I just... I just feel like there's- I'm just lonely. There's never anyone to talk to and there's never anyone to be around. I don't want to cry myself to sleep again.'

Against his better judgement, he sat back down, just to see that smile spread across her face again. He knew somehow, that it was worth it.


	4. 3

_*Thank you everyone for reviewing once again, and favouriting and following. You all make my day:) The cliche factor ups itself in this chapter, so I sincerely apologise for that. (I mean, I was literally banging my head on the table but I'm hoping to redeem myself in the later chapters.)_

**3.**

_(155 days ago)_

'Hey, greenie!'

She sighed and turned around. 'Will there be a day, Minho, that you will finally call me Romana and not 'greenie'? It's getting kind of old.'

He smirked. 'I'll call you Romana when the new greenie comes on. That won't be long, so you can look forward to that,' he answered, swatting her across the back of her head. 'Aren't you supposed to be working?'

'Aren't you supposed to be running?'

He raised his eyebrows, as if to say 'fair enough'. He sat down next to her as she had her lunch. 'You know, I never got to try you out for running,' he commented casually, and then a frown creased the space between his eyebrows, 'I haven't talked to you since you've gotten close to Gally.'

'Well, I do run fast,' she grinned, purposefully ignoring the latter comment about Gally. 'We could work out a reservation, if you want. Frypan would probably approve. He's not too fond of me, so he'll be glad not to see me for a day or two.'

'Let's all hope it won't be two days, because it'll mean you're dead.'

She scooted closer to Minho, speaking in a lower voice. 'Gally's not that bad if you get to know him, you know. I think you're all being a little unfair to him. He's nice to me. I think it's time for you all to know that,' she said seriously, looking him dead in the eye when the sentence ended.

Minho's expression darkened. 'There are things you don't know, greenie. Things that would make you want to hurl at the sight of him. You don't want to know, trust me. So go ahead and get close to him, you're not my responsibility. But I won't be watching your back.'

'Okay, okay! I'm sorry. I don't know everything, I'll just... go...'

Before she could walk, he pulled her down again. As soon as she sat down, she pulled her arm away from him uncomfortably. Romana was not a tactile person- she didn't like touches, they made her feel awkward. If he was hurt he did not show it.

'So uhh... you get together with the shank?' he asked, scratching the back of his neck.

She flushed. 'No. We're only friends.'

'Good that,' he smiled, obviously satisfied with her response. 'You haven't learned much Glader slang, have you?'

'Never grew on me. They don't sound intimidating enough. I hate practising self-censorship, anyway,' she shrugged. 'So, no, I'm not really a part of you guys. I don't think I ever will be.'

His eyes strayed downwards. 'I think you should change your shirt,' he announced.

He was right. Romana saw that her shirt was completely covered in bloodstains from handling the meat. She chuckled, and stood up. He followed. 'Haven't you got more important, runner things to do other than watch me change?' she asked incredulously.

'Nothing could possibly be more important than that, Romana.'

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. 'You are so frustrating.'

'But worth it,' he retorted.

'Well, we'll have to see about that.'

They stepped into a cabin, and he immediately slammed her against the walls, closing in on her. There was a moment where she was afraid that he would kill her. But as soon as he leaned forwards, she knew that his purpose was simply driven by desire, and not lethality. Before her thought could be completed, his lips were on hers and there was an intensity that she could not describe.

Romana didn't know which was worse- the fact that she was uncomfortable with him touching her, yet still liked the way he grabbed her hips tightly, or the knowledge that this exchange was long overdue. Either way, she wasn't ready for him to pull away from her, so she looped her arms over his shoulders and they somehow found a way to his hair.

As soon as she did, his hands slipped up towards her waist, his grip tight enough to leave a bruise.

When he pulled away, he didn't do it because he had had enough (he hasn't enough), he did it so he could pull her shirt over her head. 'What are you doing?' she asked, out of breath.

He grinned at her as her shirt slipped over her head. 'Being productive- we did come in to have you changed.'

And then he was at her lips again.

It wasn't until they finally had to stop for breath that she pushed him away. Her chest heaved up and down in an attempt to draw in air. Her cheeks were flushed from both the embarrassment and the energy that she had just wasted. To kill the silence, Romana was about to say something smart when his gaze slipped downwards, and his expression completely changed.

'What is that?' he asked quietly (the kind of quietness that was usually accompanied by fury), pointing towards her ribcage.

Her eyebrows pushed together in confusion, just before she looked down, and her entire system froze. The only sound that could make its way from her throat was a strangled, 'oh.' It wasn't difficult to guess that she had known what that was all along.

'Romana, what is that?' he repeated. This time, his tone was higher, and the elevated tone made him sound desperate.

She reached to slip on her shirt. 'Minho,' she whispered, her voice and actions were pleading. 'Minho, listen to me-'

He grabbed her wrist violently in a fit of rage. 'You knew! You knew all along! And yet you never told me? You never shucking told anybody? I trusted you, you shank! I shucking trusted you and this is how you repay me? What does that say? What does that shucking tattoo say?'

'No! No, I knew you- I was scared and I knew you would react this way and-'

'Tell me what it says!' he roared.

It was then that she got properly afraid of Minho. It was then that she realised exactly how much damage he could do to her if he was angry enough, and if he wanted to (and at that moment, he was angry enough to want to kill her). She swallowed a cry of pain at her wrist, and answered him, 'The Contagion.'

'That's enough,' he had regained that deadly calming tone again, 'I've had enough of the lies, greenie. I think it's time you come clean about it.'

At that, he started to yank her out of the cabin and into the clearing.

'No!' she yelled, panicking. 'No, you have to trust me, Minho! Please, you have to… you can't… they'll kill me! You can't do this to me! They'll banish me, please, Minho!'

'Slim it, slinthead,' he snarled, tugging so hard on her arm that she almost felt it falling off.

Gladers were closing in on them the moment they saw Minho angrily dragging her across the Glade. Among them, Gally was the most concerned. 'Hey, what are you doing? Minho, you shank, let go of her this instant!'

Minho turned to face Gally. 'If you want to know what's going on, Gally, maybe you should ask greenie. She seems to know a lot of things- and she's been very covert about them as well. I think it's time she reveals them.'

Alby and Newt pushed to the front, standing in front of them.

'What's this about, Minho?' Alby asked, crossing his arms in front of his body, unamused by the disorder that was currently happening in the Glade.

'Romana has something to tell us all.'

She kept quiet.

'Well?' Alby asked impatiently.

'If you expect me to just tell you everything, I suggest you try harder,' she mumbled, which only managed to anger Minho more. He grabbed her by the front of her shirt, and went up in her face.

'Do you want to see how angry I can get, shank? You feeling lucky?' he growled, and then he released her. 'Fine, then. I guess we'll just shucking show them, won't we?'

She tried to fight him, but before she could raise a fist, Newt had yanked her arms behind her back, and Minho had pulled her shirt up to expose her tattoo. Alby moved forward to have a look, and Romana looked away, tears filling her eyes in fear of what they would do to her after they found out. _What if they found out all of it? What if they found out everything?_

'The Contagion,' Alby said, straightening up and looking at her right in the face. 'What does that mean, shank?'

'I don't know,' she answered firmly- and truthfully, she had no idea.

There was a sharp clanging sound, and Minho's knife had found its new home against her neck. She looked at him in disbelief. 'You wouldn't do that,' she said quietly, mostly to try to convince herself, which was not doing very well at the moment.

'Believe me, there are very little things I wouldn't do at this moment,' he said.

'I don't know what it means, I'm being perfectly honest,' she pleaded.

Minho stepped closer to her. 'Like you were honest with me all along? Like how your accent has suddenly changed?'

'I never meant to lie to you!' she yelled, the tears streaming down her face. 'But I swear, I don't know anything about the tattoo. It's been there since I've arrived. And as for my accent… it's just coming back in snippets. Most of the times it doesn't come out. I don't know where this American accent comes from, Scottish has always… dominated my tongue.'

From their expressions, they had no idea what she was talking about.

'You know other things. No one here knows what American or Scottish is. You're keeping a lot of things from us, greenie,' Alby snarled. 'You better come clean right now or I can't guarantee what will become of you.'

She looked at Minho again, who was not being forgiving at the moment. She turned to look at Gally- he looked betrayed and angry. He wasn't being sympathetic either.

Taking a deep breath, she started launching into her story. 'About a few days after arriving, things started coming back. My memories started… refilling. Bits and bits came back into my mind, I started remembering things. My name… Things like how you all think I'm 15 but in fact I just look young and I'm actually 17. My favourite colour, my hobbies… things like that…'

The knife dug a little harder against her skin. 'Why were you sent here? What's your role in all this? What do you know about the Creators or the Glade?'

'Nothing! I swear, I know nothing! With all my life, I swear I know nothing at all! I just know my life story from beginning to now! Please, I swear I'm not here to… betray you all!'

Newt spoke up. 'I don't think she's lying, Alby.'

Romana let out a sigh of relief.

'But how did you find out about the tattoo?' a voice asked.

Minho looked over at that person. 'We were getting to know each other better in the cabin. In that process, she started losing clothes,' he answered simply, causing Romana to flush.

'So what should we do with her?'

Alby turned to Clint. 'I say we banish her.'

Romana's throat tightened until she couldn't breathe at all. She tried to swallow the fear that was threatening to burst out of her but it just grabbed her throat and squeezed harder. The discussions faded in and out of her line of hearing, but she knew- she just knew that it was not going to be in her favour.

'All right, it's time for a vote. Keepers, what do you say? Gally?'

'I say we banish her. She kept this from us for three weeks. If Minho hadn't found out, then she wouldn't have revealed a single word. And I think she knows more. If she won't tell us, then she holds as a threat to us.'

If Romana could take back all her trust and simply instill them in herself, she would do so immediately. She knew trusting anyone at all was risky, she just didn't know it would lead to her death as well. She tried to hold herself up despite all the pain that was accumulating in her chest.

'Good, Newt?'

'Banish her in the day time. There's no way we can ensure her truthfulness. If she finds her way back before day time, we let her be. If she doesn't, then… that's her problem.'

She had closed her eyes and refused to listen to them until Minho opened his mouth. 'I agree with Newt. I say we banish her.'

With that, Romana had lost all faith in humanity.

'Tomorrow by sunrise,' Alby announced, and grabbing her by the arm, locked her into the slammer for the night.


	5. 4

_*Oh my god! It's been so long since I've last updated I can't believe it. I think I need to speed up with writing because I'm literally only on chapter 6 and I'm running out of chapters now ughh. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter- Minho and Romana finally get something established._

* * *

**4.**

_(154 days ago)_

'Rise and shine, sunshine.'

Slowly and acceptingly, she opened her eyes to find Minho standing in front of her. She stood up. It wasn't as if she was going to resist this anymore. When the Keepers had agreed to a plan, she knew it was unlikely for them to change their mind. Especially when a betrayed Gally and infuriated Minho were added to the mix.

Romana stood up and away from the door so Minho could open it. His expression was indecipherable. 'Still being unreasonable, I see,' she muttered, but still, he didn't answer her.

'I regret that you have to die, but you know you deserve it.'

'Yeah? Well, remember to whisper the same words in my ear as I lie dying- or as you recover my cold, dead corpse from the maze,' she simply said, holding out her arms for him to tie behind her back. Minho wished he could take back his anger and his tendency to rush into bad decisions, but he couldn't. He could only hold her by the ropes on her wrists as they walked out into the clearing, just before the gates of the maze.

The Keepers were holding out long poles, all awaiting her arrival.

Minho cut her binds, and took her supplies, tossing them into the maze.

'Any last words?'

She raised her eyebrows, and an ugly laugh came out from her lips. 'You were all very accommodating and exceptionally considerate. I hope you enjoy this last conversation with the last girl you will ever see. Remember that my death will be at the cost of all your conscience.'

Romana's words were poisonous and bitter, but her tone was nonchalant.

She looked at each and every one of them, but her stares towards Minho and Gally were the longest and hardest. Her glance at Minho proved to be affecting his conscience. There was a miserable tint in his expression, and she began to wonder how much he regretted lashing out in the heat of the moment.

'Keepers, get ready.'

She took a step backwards towards the maze and laughed shakily. 'There's no need for that. You should save your energy for mourning me,' then she looked towards the maze, fear lacing through her bloodstream. 'I've never been one to condemn myself, but… if it takes an impact on your conscience…'

Romana turned and stepped into the maze. Picking up her supplies, her back slowly disappeared at the turn of the maze.

An unearthly silence settled over the crowds. If her willingness to walk into the maze did not faze them, her last words did. Minho, for one, knew for a fact that she would never survive out in the maze when she knew nothing of the routes. He also knew, for a fact, that he was the one who would be most responsible for her death.

Was he going to let it all happen? Did their exchange in the cabin mean nothing at all?

Romana slowed to a jog, and eventually a walk. She stopped suddenly, dropping her bag onto the floor with a loud 'clunk'. With her hand on the wall, she supported herself, and let the tears flow out. They were not quiet tears, but loud, noisy and hysterical sobs that forced their way through the top of her throat, squeezing through her lips.

She let herself calm down, and picked up her bag again, searching for the exit of the maze.

The sun had perhaps shifted to the west when she thoroughly gave up. She sat down on the floor and said her last prayer. Romana let the exhaustion overcome her.

Suddenly, a creaking sound woke her.

It was a Griever.

She stood up, not bothering to collect her supplies, and just ran. The Griever was hot on her heels, and she only managed to evade it- but not after it made a deep cut on her shoulder. She hissed in pain, wondering why she was censoring herself in an area where she was alone.

Sighing, she let herself fall to her knees. _Just take me. _

'Hey shuckhead! Over here!'

_What is that voice?_

The Griever changed directions, and she found her eyelids falling close

Romana would not let herself fall into this trap. It was a devil's trap- she knew that if she stepped into the welcoming arms of the darkness, she would perish. She was going to save herself- because she knew that in a world like this one, she could never depend on anyone to save her. It was futile to expect a hero. She could only depend on herself.

Placing an arm on the walls of the maze, she felt around and walked, even though she could no longer see through the red haziness covering her vision. She followed her instincts and walked, knowing that she was going to arrive in the Glade if only she kept going.

And eventually she did. She also walked deliriously into a tired, panting Minho, who simply grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into a cabin. 'You are such a piece of work,' she could hear before she made it to the bed and drifted off into outer space.

**XXXXX**

She was drifting in the dark. She wondered if this was it- was this afterlife? Would she be stuck here forever, floating in a void that went on and on and on?

'You were right,' a voice chuckled, but the tone was not amused- it sounded way too forced. 'You were spot on, you know. I don't know what to say. I really shucking thought you betrayed me. I trusted you. I really thought you were sent here to destroy us. But now I'm not so sure anymore. You nearly died out there and I know it's all my shucking fault-'

She moved her fingers and squeezed his hand.

'Holy klunk, did you just- Romana! Romana, wake up!'

Groaning, she slowly sat up in the makeshift bed. 'You're a bastard, you know?' she mumbled. And before she could say anything else, he had taken her in his arms and kissed her once again. Tiredly, she kissed back only to falter and nearly collapse.

Frantically, he pulled away and placed her down on the bed again. 'Shuck, I'm sorry. I mean, you're a shucking bitch sometimes, but I still…'

The words would not escape his lips but they both knew what he wanted to say.

She chuckled. 'Don't say that, you won't mean it yet.'

He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms in front of him. 'How do you know I won't?'

'You'll just be saying it because you've never had anyone to love and I was the first to come along. You'll be saying it because you think that you love me. But you might not- in fact, there's a 99% chance that you don't. So don't say it and get my hopes up, Minho, and just let it be. What will be, will be. Don't make it like last time, where you promised me and completely let me fall apart-'

'I didn't promise-'

She rolled her eyes. 'Oh please, if kissing me like that wasn't promising me that you at least trust me, then what is it? If making me believe I could trust you in an enclosed area with my clothes off wasn't promising me that you'd stand by me, then what is it?' she paused and swallowed her fear, 'And it might have been in the heat of the moment- it might have been lust, but you came back for me and I'm alive. So I think… something matters.'

He sighed, and looked over at her. 'I don't know how this happened, but shuck, you managed to shucking make me care for a shank like you. So you're held accountable for whatever actions I decide to act on because of you.'

'Yeah, sure, I'll just get banished because you decided to save me.'

He grabbed a clean t-shirt and threw it at her, which she caught with a smile on her face.

She pulled off her blood-caked shirt and pulled on the new one, wincing as the blood stuck to the shirt. 'How's Gally?' she asked quietly, not daring to look at Minho.

'What's he to you?' Minho asked rudely.

She glared at him sternly.

'He's my friend.'

'Not anymore,' he answered shortly. 'He doesn't seem to want to be your friend anymore. In fact, he hates your shucking bones now.'

Romana swallowed the sob that was building in her throat. 'God, Gally, I'm so sorry.'

Minho frowned. 'You called me a bastard, and you're sorry for keeping secrets from him?'

A smirk made its way across her face in spite of the pain she was feeling. 'Why, are you jealous?' she asked teasingly.

A possessive look dawned over Minho's face. His voice was strange and husky. 'Why would I be jealous when,' he paused to pull her up so they were on the same level, 'I've got you right where you want to be and he's out there pining, being frustrated because the girl didn't choose him?'

And then he kissed her again.

When she finally pulled away, she was trying hard not to look flustered.

'So what do you propose we do now? They still think I'm out there dying,' she asked casually, raising her eyebrows and leaning back into her pillow, away from Minho.

He smirked over at her. 'Do what we do best. Just go along with it.'

And then, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulders. She gave a protesting cry. 'Is this how you normally carry an injured person? Because it's very considerate,' she said, completely unamused.

He shrugged, and replied with just as much sass. 'I normally just drag them around on the floor, actually. Is that what you want?'

That shut her up efficiently, lying limp over his shoulder. 'You are exceptionally light. What does Frypan feed you? You need to get some meat on your bones.'

'Shut up, Minho,' she mumbled. 'The good meals are always left for you guys. You're runners- you need more energy, apparently, and frankly, I don't quite disagree with that either. I think I've always been quite thin anyway. Does it matter?'

'Would've appreciated more curves,' he grinned.

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. 'Well, nobody's got time to care for them, you arse. Besides, it's not as if you've got any options to choose from so you'd better be appreciative.'

'Yes, yes, now play dead,' he demanded, giving her a smack on the back of her thighs.

Romana grumbled something about him being a bastard before letting her eyelids drift close. It was then they both realised how tired she was. She had spent the entire day running through the maze without training beforehand, evading Grievers and the god-knows-whats in the maze. It had to be at least a little exhausting for her.

'If you hadn't survived…' he said quietly so only she could hear, 'If you hadn't survived and I had been carrying your cold, dead corpse…'

He didn't finish the sentence- he didn't need to.

She wasn't unconscious, she just wasn't moving. And as she lay there not moving, she kept thinking about how this happened. In a million years, she would never have thought he would save her. Sure, she knew he liked flirting with her. Sure, she knew he seemed overtly friendly with her sometimes. But when had he started caring for her?

_Or does he?_

He was increasingly pleased by having her in his arms. It felt right, even though he had just went against Alby to get her back from the maze. Minho had never broken the rules.

'What's this, Minho?'

'Found her just outside the maze and brought her in. Patched her up and brought her here- her shoulder's sliced in almost straight to the bone,' he said gruffly, obviously exaggerating a little bit, like he always did. He patted her on the thigh again (to be fair, it was the only place on her that he could reach), to which she let out a slight growl to. He smirked in response.

He not-so-gently dumped her into the beds at the ().

Clenching her jaw, Romana made a note to get back at Minho for his lack of care, especially when he knew that she was hurt. She realised how much of a task pretending to be faint was- there was nothing she wanted to do more than shift around right now.

'Have you got anything to do with this?'

Minho rolled his eyes. 'Why would I have anything to do with this?'

'You know you're not fooling me, right?' Clint scoffed. 'She gets banished and you're the one who carries her back. Do you think I don't remember when that shank first arrived and you ended up ripping her dress up? And that she was constantly wearing your clothes?'

He could not stop himself from rolling his eyes again. 'She changed into my clothes once,' he said dryly. 'There is nothing going on between us, as far as I'm concerned. I tend to act a bit macho in front of girls after spending 3 years in the company of shuck-ugly boys, so slim it, slinthead.'

Clint simply raised his eyebrows. 'Whatever you say, Minho, you're the boss,' he said sarcastically. 'If you want to shuck around with the chick and completely ignore all the warning lights that came with her, it's fine by me. It's your life, not mine.'

Minho kept quiet. This conversation had obviously not gone the way he had planned, and now he was the one getting embarrassed. He genuinely hoped that Romana was not hearing this (which was kind of a wishful thinking on his part, since he was the one who told her to play dead). And then suddenly, 'Then what do you want me to do?' he asked, his tone slowly building up to a shout. 'Leave her to die outside when you all know she ain't done nothing wrong?'

Clint laughed. 'You voted for that. And if I remember correctly, you were the one who voted for banishing her. And you were the one who dragged her out after finding that tattoo, so I don't really understand where this sudden love for her comes in.'

'Ya think I don't regret that every day, do ya?' he asked, calming down just a little.

Romana wondered, as she listened to him, if his dialect changed when he talked to different people. Stopping a smile from spreading over her face, she couldn't help but think of how she did the same thing and wonder if they were made for each other. _ Holy shit, when did I ever get this cheesy? I need to get a grip on myself._

'Shut up, both of you,' she groaned, unable to keep herself quiet anymore.

Minho immediately rushed to her side. 'Are you all right?'

Romana gave him a weird look, mouthing, 'What?'

He shot her a look.

'Should I get Alby?' Clint asked.

'Yes,' they both chorused at the same time. Clint stared at them for a moment before shaking his head and walking out to look for Alby.

She tilted her head to the side and raised one eyebrow. He rolled his eyes and sat down next to her. 'Did you forget that you'd seen me 5 minutes ago and I was only pretending to be fainted?' she asked incredulously. 'Or has your acting become so incredibly amazing that even I wasn't able to read that you were pretending to be concerned?'

'I thought we agreed to go along with it,' he grumbled.

She crossed her legs in front of her and sat up. 'It's quite hard when your shoulder is a tad bit away from bleeding out and your guy decides to just dump you like a piece of trash onto the floor. It's kind of distracting, you know,' she replied, with an equal amount of sass and sarcasm in her voice. _Sarcasm is the lowest form of humour, _she suddenly remembered, but it didn't faze her.

'You better have a good reason for this.'

They turned to a pissed off Alby at the doorway.

Romana simply shrugged. 'You said you would leave me alone if I found my way back alive. Besides, what are you going to do, really? Banish me again?'


	6. 4 5

_*Hello! Because I felt like the last chapter needed an explanation, and I felt like clarifying things (although this chapter does not really manage to clarify anything either). Anyhoo, I hope this will make it easier to bear with the story for the time being. It'll become clear in the future, I promise. There's a (semi) logical explanation for their behaviour._

* * *

**4.5**

_(154 days ago- right after the banishment)_

_From the boys._

Alby looked over at Minho.

'If we made it seem so convincing…' Minho said, 'Why does it seem so wrong?'

Newt stared at the gates of the maze, silently agreeing to their discussion.

The dark-skinned leader turned away, a sick feeling rising in her stomach. There was an inexplicable thought in his head- that she was going to bring about the doom of everyone here, yet seeing her so cruelly torn from a perfectly peaceful life had shaken him up completely. Right about now, he couldn't really believe what he had done.

'Why did we think it was a good decision?'

Minho shrugged. 'I don't know. It made me mad. Like it was… like the tattoo meant something it wasn't supposed to. Like she knows too much.'

'Like she wasn't supposed to be in the Glade,' Alby agreed. 'Like something horrible was going to happen if she doesn't go.'

Newt scowled. 'She's just a girl stuck in the middle of this mess. I think we were shrouded by our bloody tempers. And for some reason, we didn't wake up the next morning- only could wake up after she's gone.'

They stared out into the maze, three of them with the same thoughts in mind, yet not knowing how to get them across to each other.

It was Minho who opened his mouth first.

'I think we should get her back.'

Alby snapped his head towards him. 'Why?' he asked sharply.

'Because I don't want her blood on my hands,' Minho answered just as harshly, but that obviously wasn't the only reason he had in mind. The regret was strong in his mind. He wished he hadn't acted on his anger- that was always his problem: he was too quick tempered. Someday he knew that it would be the death of him.

Neither of the leaders of the Glade answered. But it was kind of clear that they didn't have to.

'And face it, it was bloody ridiculous, banishing someone just because of a shuckin' tattoo,' Newt added.


	7. 5

_*Apologies for the long wait! This isn't the best chapter. I'm not really writing this actively right now, so... I know where I'm going with the plot, I'm just not liking it very much so I'm pretty much stuck._

**5.**

_(in the present)_

She was halfway across the Glade when she caught sight of him.

He stared unforgivingly into her, and the way that his eyebrows were shaped only made him more frightening. She shuddered, and hurried up her footsteps. She always felt so insecure walking around in the Glade- not only because of Gally, but because most of the boys had an issue with her (due to what she now called, 'The Tattoo Incident').

It also felt insecure because Minho, for the most of the times, was not actually in the Glade, but in the Maze. And she honestly felt that in the whole Glade, Minho was the only one who trusted her (and whom she trusted, of course) enough to protect her and prevent trivial arguments between her and the Gladers before they could get her banished (yet again).

Frypan threw a piece of meat onto her table, without bothering to tell her what to do.

Romana smiled sarcastically back at him. Despite his cranky attitude half of the time, she knew that he harboured a certain fondness for herself. And face it, that was a lot to ask for in the Glade, and especially given her situation.

Suddenly, a loud alarm rung in her ears, and she dropped her knife on the table, immediately running towards the metal box in anticipation.

(That voice she had once heard when she was in the box was completely correct. One of the best things in the Glade was seeing who they sent up every month.)

She pushed her way to the front, earning a few dirty glares in reciprocal. She brushed them off the best she could, storing these memories in the back of her mind so she could cry over them at night. By the time she had arrived at the front, Newt had grabbed the newbie and pulled him up onto the land.

'Look at the Greenbean,' Gally snickered, 'Gonna break his shuck neck checkin' out the digs.'

Romana looked towards him with distaste, and it seemed that she wasn't the only one who disliked his outburst, because Alby immediately told him to shut up.

She wished she knew how to stop the boys' inconsiderate jests, because she knew how it felt to have these voices all around, confusing the hell out of her. Despite this, she felt a very uncomfortable sensation at the new greenie's arrival.

She must have spaced out, because the next thing she knew, Alby had grabbed the newbie by his shirt and the newbie had fallen onto the floor. 'Get up, shank, get up!'

'Jesus Christ, Alby!' she snapped, 'No need to get all up his arse!'

A loud crack resonated and Gally's smack had caused her cheek to snap to the left.

Silence filled the Glade at once.

'Gally,' Alby warned, 'You can't just do that without justification.'

'She was being rude to you,' Gally simply said.

'Like that's ever stopped you from talking back to Alby before,' she retorted, recovering and rubbing at her reddened cheek.

Alby stared impatiently at them. 'You're explaining this to Minho. I'm not going to make up some shuck excuse to him. You know how he gets.'

Romana's cheek went even redder from the statement. 'I don't fucking want that to be the reason why all of you are afraid to lay a single hand on me,' she spat.

'Can we get back on point?' Alby snapped, and turned back to Thomas, who looked positively alarmed at the fact that someone had just gotten slapped but had no response other than frustration. And that she had gotten no serious attention or pity. It just made him more afraid of what this place was, and what the future held for him.

He turned back to Alby, and was about to open his mouth when Alby finally snapped, gripping him by the shirt again. 'Whacker, if we told you everything, you'd die on the spot, right after you klunked your pants. Baggers'd drag you off, and you ain't no good to us then, are ya?'

The Greenbean looked even more confused than ever. 'I don't even know what you're talking about,' he said.

Newt finally stepped in between them, and grabbed Alby by the shoulders. 'Alby, lay off a bit. You're hurting more than helpin', ya know?'

He finally let go and let out a breath. 'Ain't got time to be nice, Greenbean,' Alby started, grunting in frustration. Thomas wondered again, if that also accounted for the girl, because from what he had seen, she had been very forgiving about the slap. _Did they do that often? Is it either fight or be beaten in here? Should I put my defences up, just in case?_

As soon as Alby had finished his cautionary speech, the boys started headed back towards their station. 'What did I do?' he whispered, 'What did I do- why'd they send me here?'

He didn't expect her to hear, but she did. Turning back, she offered him a smile, the handprint still on her cheek. 'Doesn't it make one think?'

And then she walked away.

He could only stare at her and wonder who she was, and why she seemed to be the only female in this place they called 'the Glade'.

Before night fell, two figures emerged from the Maze. 'New greenie, huh?' the Asian one smirked at him, and slowed down to a walk before heading to the kitchen (which was his favourite for several reasons). Wanting to know more about this boy who had gone out of the Glade, he followed him discreetly to the kitchen and listened to whatever he had to say.

'Gimme some water.'

'Say hi to me first,' a female voice pitched in.

There was a chuckle, and then a brief silence, followed by the boy drinking noisily. He heard glass being handled roughly before the boy from the maze started to yell. 'What the klunk happened to you?'

The girl sighed. 'It's nothing-'

'It's not shucking nothing, Romana. When some shuckhead does this to you, you tell me and I beat the klunk out of the shuck. You don't stand around doing nothing, pretending it's shucking nothing,' he growled.

'Just… calm down, Minho, and stop swearing. I'm all right. I know I make excuses for Gally but I'm justified, okay? I lied to him for a whole month. He's been nothing but a true friend to me for a whole month. Nothing but honest,' she said firmly, and then she turned slightly. 'You can come out now, greenie, we both know you're there.'

Thomas stepped out and into the clearing, following them as they left the kitchen. 'Hey, wait! Romana!'

They turned around, and Thomas flinched back to see an annoyed expression on the Asian boy's face (she said his name was Minho). 'I… are you a runner?'

'Yeah. What's it to you?' he asked rudely.

Romana frowned at him, but he didn't seem to be the least fazed. Thomas stuttered for a few moments. 'Romana,' he hissed, 'I'm not going to wait any longer. Get lost, greenie.'

'Stop being a shuckhead,' she snapped at Minho. 'If you're going to be like that you're going to have to wait a week or so.'

Minho rolled his eyes, but seemed to heed her advice and keep quiet. 'Hey newbie, listen to my advice- wait for the tour,' she said simply, nodding over at him. 'It's going to save you a hell of a trouble, and you're going to get your answers without the hassle.'

Then both Gladers turned and returned walked towards their cabin. 'So what do you think of the newbie?' she asked casually.

'He interrupted us. I'm not very happy about that,' he grumbled. _And he made me realise that you've got me wrapped around your little finger, so I'm not very happy about that either. _'And you've got power over me, I'm not appreciating that either, Romana. I think we should change that.'

She grinned. 'She's the captain's captain*,' she quoted, leaving him to wonder where that came from.

'I think the keeper's keeper would be a better term,' he breathed, before grabbed her shoulders and pushing her towards the wall, trapping her between the hard surfaces, kissing her until she completely lose all ability to breathe. 'But look, who's the keeper now?'

Romana let him have this one. 'I've never doubted for a moment it was you, Keeper of the Runners,' she whispered and leaned forwards to rest her forehead on his. _He doesn't have to know who has the real power here. _

'Do you think I can have Romana back now?' an annoyed voice yelled outside the cabin. 'Dinner is two shucking hours away!'

Minho pressed his lips against hers for one last time before pulling away. A satisfied smile was on his face, and he seemed to be much replenished in energy now. 'Make sure you return her in one piece- and untouched,' he chuckled, opening the door for her to leave.

She laughed as she followed Frypan into the kitchen.

'Can you not walk off and shuck Minho every chance you get, shank?' he growled at her as she set to work again.

Shrugging, she chopped at the vegetables with ferocity. 'You know if you value your life, you don't just resist Minho's advances right? Besides, I'm not fucking him, we're just innocently kissing.'

_Maybe not so innocent, _she thought, last night's scene playing over her mind. They kissed- and sometimes their hands wandered, but they had never gone over the line before. In a place like the Glade, one could not effort to be careless, and nobody knew that more than Romana and Minho. Both of them were known for being impulsive but meticulously cautious and aware of consequences.

'What you do behind closed doors doesn't interest me,' Frypan replied. 'All I care about is whether work gets done around here. If you're no use to us, then you might as well be dead.'

She raised her eyebrows, putting down her things roughly and crossing her arms. 'Yeah, well, what are you going to do then? Banish me? That worked well in the past.'

'You've got to stop using that as a threat,' he deadpanned.

Romana rolled her eyes, picking up her knife again and handing the chopped vegetables to him. 'Well, it works every time,' she simply answered. 'Besides, it seems that you like to think of us girls like weaklings who can't fend for themselves. I fought my way back from the maze- I just thought I'd mention that again, you know.'

There was no reply on Frypan's behalf.

'You're not too bad at this either, I must say,' Frypan finally mused, causing a smirk to turn up on Romana's face. 'Apart from the unequally chopped up vegetables and slightly burned meat. You've got pure talent.'

She scowled, thinking that for a moment, he was serious. 'You should ask Newt for a switch. I took you in because I felt bad for you, but you're proving pretty bad at this.'

Romana rolled her eyes. 'As if, Frypan.'

'Are you even listening to me?'

She snapped out of her trance and looked over at Frypan. An apologetic expression came over her eyes, but the spoken apology was lodged in her throat, and she could not really force it out for the love of her. There was an uncomfortable silence- one that even Romana detested.

'Look, can we just get tonight done with?' Frypan said impatiently. 'You can continue making out with Minho later on. Or you can continue fantasising about that later.'

Romana rolled her eyes once more, setting the food on the table outside, watching as the Gladers filled the camp one by one. She didn't exactly dread this 'welcoming party', but she wasn't really one for socialising either. She would choose solitary confinement over this any day- in fact, when they locked her in the slammer, it wasn't such a punishment for her after all. At least she was with the person she trusted the most- herself.

Leaving Frypan by himself, she joined the Runners.

They mostly welcome her, with a few exceptions. Her last stunt in the maze impressed most- if not all of them. She failed to explain that it wasn't all her, that Minho played a part in distracting the Griever as well. But then, she was convinced that escaping the maze made her quite capable already. 'When are you going official anyway?'

She frowned. 'What is this about official?' she asked, sitting down on the floor casually. 'It's not as if we're in a romantic relationship.'

A few eyebrows went up. They weren't outspoken at all, but their opinions showed.

'We aren't!' she protested. 'I don't… love him. It's not like that. It's… mutually beneficiary. I don't really see the need to define it more than that.'

There was silence. Minho was coming; Minho had heard that.

He seemed unaffected by her statement- and if he was, he didn't let it show.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he settled down next to her and before long, they were having their usual fun again.

She wondered if he was only pretending to be fine, or if he was in fact, nonchalant to the whole outburst. He watched the newbie fight Gally, and as he did, Romana watched his jaw clench and unclench. She wondered if she was the cause behind this tension, or if it was merely stress from the Maze.

When Gally fell, Minho raised his eyebrows amusedly, but there was a sort of reservation behind his every expression.

She wished she knew what that reservation was for.

'Hmm, greenie's not bad.'

Romana looked over in surprise. 'Yeah. Yeah, he's not bad.'

_*I know. Some of you are not going to like Gally's actions. He's not very sane, at this point of the story. Hope it explains it. _


End file.
